‘In the hands of criminals’: Orange County deputies looking for men that stole dozens of guns

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies in Orange County are looking for men who stole dozens of guns from a storage facility.

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According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, on May 6, two men broke into a storage facility located off East Colonial Drive near Challenger Parkway.

Deputies say surveillance video shows the men went straight to one unit in particular.

Corporal William Ramirez didn’t specify the kind of guns stolen from that storage unit owned by an online federal firearms licensed dealer.

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Ramirez said the investigation is ongoing, but the department worries that those guns are still out there.

“That’s very, very dangerous for everyone — That’s very dangerous for the public as well as us,” he said. ” You don’t want these firearms in the hands of criminals.”

Investigators said that in just 13 minutes, the two men stole thousands of dollars of weapons from the extra space storage on East Colonial Drive in Orange County.

“It appears that the unit was targeted — they knew exactly where to go,” Ramirez said. “They only broke into that one storage unit, so it appears that it was targeted.”

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Surveillance video shows the two men walking up to the building around 1:45 a.m. One pushed a code to unlock the door while the other pried it open to get in.

Ramirez said that this is one of the ways guns end up on the streets – even worse in the hands of teenagers.

“Whether you are a firearms dealer like they were in this case or a responsible gun owner — It’s very important to properly secure your firearms so they don’t end up with somebody we don’t want,” he said.

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An Orange County Sheriff’s Office report said the guns were stolen from a third-floor storage unit.

It also said it was the only unit broken into, and no other unit had any signs of damaged locks or forced entry.

There is a nearly $13,000 reward for information leading to their arrests.

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Crimeline is offering a $7,500 reward, and ATF is offering $5,000 on top of that.

“We really want to get these firearms off the street — that’s why the reward is so large,” Ramirez said.

Those with any information can call Crimeline at (800) 423-8477 or the ATF at (888) 283-8477

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